Trip to Bahia

A Sloth We Saw While On Excursion
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Salvador (São Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos or translated as 'Holy Savior of All Saints' Bay') is a city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is the third most popular Brazilian city after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and is often known for its cuisine, music and architecture.

My friends and I discovered a trip to Bahia on offer on the back of a First Choice catalogue and decided to book it up instantly. The price of the holiday was reasonably quite good considering the quality of the hotel thrown in and the winter season coming about in Brazil. The added excursion to Rio made it just that more appealing, as we then knew that we wouldn't just be restricted to the local area and it gave us a fantastic chance to see more of Brazil and it's most famous landmarks (Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain).

Every excursion we took in Brazil was either eye opening and educational or fun and a fantastic buzz but then the country just was a great experience as a whole!

Our View At The Football Match Watching Vitoria
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What made this trip more special were the people that we met out there. Around half the hotel guests spoke English which in my opinion was a lot more than the hotel staff who are taking lessons to change that (many knew basic English and those that didn't would always find somebody that did). You could say that because of the language barriers around the hotel, many of the people from their own country would stick together so nobody felt on their own in a difficult situation. I found that every different nationality of people that were staying in the hotel gave it that little bit of added spice to the hotel experience so there wasn't really any downside that should ever put you off coming.

Inside The Old Bakery
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Our experience of Brazil was a fantastic one and if there was a little less rain and a bit more money between us, it could have only got better. It rained quite a lot in our last week but it was expected at this time of year. The best time to visit Brazil would be around the time of Mardi Gras when the weather is at its hottest and you can spend time partying in the countries’ most famous party in the world. During our first morning in the hotel, we were introduced to the hotel properly, given some background on Brazil and shown a list of excursions available. The trouble for us was that the spending money we brought had just about covered the Rio trip (unfortunately not enough to visit the Iguassu Falls). With a cash point machine down the road, we were able to get more out and purchase a few extra trips. This gave us that full flavour of what Brazil was really all about and leaving us with a little bit left for any extra needs such as an experience of the local market and the night life that goes on there in the evening.

Khandkar Standing Behind The School Children In Brazil
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Our first trip was a rainforest expedition to see the sloths (medium-sized mammals) which was quite a fun and interesting experience. The forest itself was quite dense and sloths are apparently very hard to spot but thankfully, we saw one almost instantly as we got to the site. Sloths tend to spend most of their time up in the trees as they sleep for around 15-18 hours a day. Our guide was quite surprised by the finding which goes to show that it's a good excursion to take but only if you get lucky enough to see them! One of the other groups that went said that their jeep got stuck in mud there because it had been raining the day before (there are many pot holes there) so many had to get out and push.

Paul & I Ready For The Rapids!
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On that very same day we bumped into a young guy who has been a regular at the hotel for the past few years and was offering people a chance to go watch a football cup match in Bahia that night (this would be one of two matches we went to see in Brazil). He knew the area pretty well and had arranged a taxi to pick people up from the hotel and go to the stadium. We paid very little with contributions going to the taxi driver (due to the amount of people that went) and our tickets to get in so we took up the chance almost instantly. The game was to watch Vitoria against São Caetano with the game being played at Vitoria. Many of the people that went with us bought Vitoria shirts at the stadium for very cheap prices and we managed to get in and take up seats that were directly behind one of the goals. This was my first direct experience of Brazilian football and it was great watching. Many of the fans were chanting and flares were lit up right across the ground. The atmosphere was very different in here and you got a good feel of that when São Caetano had scored to level the game. There were very little fans for the opposition team and you could hear a pin drop after the goal had gone in. As the match was coming to a close at 1-1 we started leaving so we could get to the taxi (they sit and wait for you no matter how long you are gone for!) and not get caught up on the roads. It also started to rain a bit so many of us headed out of the ground and into the car park at a quickened pace. As we reached the taxi we heard another cheer in the distance which gave us the impression of another goal had gone in. As the last few people had got back to the taxi, they told us it finished 3-2 and there was me thinking it had just been one goal! It was a shame to miss the last three goals but still a great experience nevertheless.

Garcia De'Avila Castle
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Our next excursion around Bahia was after our trip to Rio (you can read more about that in my Rio review), which took us first to an old bakery to give us insight into how the Bahia people lived. At this current time, I work as a baker back home so it was that little extra bit special for me to go there and see how different things were. In here you could see how people spent hours grinding the flour and turning it into fine powder to make the bread. You could also get the idea of how Brazilians grew their fruit with all the different selections of trees that grew in the vineyard just outside.

Ready For Quad Biking
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Next we travelled up to a quiet beach for a small rest before sailing across the water on a big canoe. It was quite tiring work and sometimes I found myself slacking off a bit but then I was on holiday! Upon reaching the other side, we travelled in our open top jeep to a restaurant for a nice meal in the shade. We were given the option of having either fish, squid or crab (I think) but there is quite a range of selection there anyway and you can always help yourself to all three.

Upon leaving the restaurant, we travelled up to a school to get the idea of what education was like in the country. Our guide had told us that are very hard to get into school in Brazil due to either lack of funds or in many cases, parents were unable to fund for their children's uniform which is made compulsory. Many of the children that do go usually finish education still at a young age by any standards. As we walked into the building, we went into a classroom and greeted the children. The school is very small in size and the classroom only had between 10-15 children in the room so it gives you an idea of how many children in the area were going. It was a fantastic experience to say hello to them all and some of our group were writing words on the blackboard in English so the children could write the translation in Portuguese. My friend Paul wrote 'I like burgers' on the board which was quite funny at the time and the child chosen to write the translation was rather shy about following it up! After the exercise, we took a look around the school and waved goodbye to the smiling children.

Next up was a fun ride on an inflatable down a Bahia river via a walk through a nature reserve forest (Reserva Da Sapiranga). We were followed by some Brazilian children who helped us through the walk and were a willing hand when we got into the water and couldn't get the inflatable to go the right way! People had the option to sit out but it was too much fun to resist. I sat on one of the round inflatable so I could lie back most of the time and paddle safely with my hands. Paul had the same type of inflatable but still somehow managed to put a hole in it!

To finish off the journey there was a beautiful little castle in the village of Praia do Forte which is currently being restored. The castle was built in 1556 by a Portuguese settler called Gárcia D’Ávila. The fortified castle was to be the headquarters of his massive farm which was the first in Brazil. It was also built to protect the country from foreign ship attacks. By looking around the castle you can see certain areas where the castle is no longer standing but there are still many parts that stand tall. After looking around and taking photos, it was time to finish the journey and head back to the hotel. It was a thoroughly enjoyable excursion!

Our last excursion which took part much later in our last week was a quad biking thrill deep in the Bahia forest and along it's speedway roads. This was a fantastic way of ending our trip and the first time I've ever been behind the wheel of anything that doesn't need peddling! Once we arrived at the start of the course, we were given a brief on how to use the bikes and then we all put our helmets on and revved up the bikes! We were all given the option to go in manual or automatic but I couldn't be bothered with changing gears constantly. During the first hour of riding, it was probably best as well as I struggled to get the bike under control. We all followed in one straight line although the couple who shared a bike in front of me took a wrong turn and I ended up going the wrong way with them! After a short break in the middle of the excursion, we went back onto the bikes and did the course in reverse or close enough. At this point I had the hang of the bike and started passing people while taking a few trees out along the way! At the end of the course, I had the bike at full speed while making gestures at my friends Paul and Khandkar as I went further ahead of them. I think after this, I now have a bit more temptation into learning how to drive. I strongly recommend to quad biking to anybody who loves a good drive or looking putting the pedal to the metal. The excursions in Brazil that we took were all fantastic and I can only say to go out there and experience as many as possible if ever you go out there yourself. Every excursion we took in Brazil was both eye opening and educational or fun and a fantastic buzz but then the country just was a great experience as a whole!